New York City - October 28, 2013

New York City is a metropolis known for its tourist attractions and its cultural icons. An interesting concept we came across while taking a long stroll in Manhattan was the fact that the city managed to turn Central Park into a living and speaking museum exhibit. One of the exhibits happen to be The Pond. For a small fee, any curious tourist (or lonely New Yorker looking to hear a famous voice) can dial into the Central Park’s audio tour and hear The Pond’s history narrated by none other than Carrie Bradshaw, Sarah Jessica Parker’s alter ego in the hit TV show Sex and the City.

An image indelibly linked with the Big Apple is the city's downtown rush hour, punctuated by yellow taxis, red lights, honking horns and a healthy dose of New York road rage. In an attempt to make the urban commute a bit easier on the ears, the city actually instituted a no honking policy, punishable by a healthy $350 fine for offending drivers. The jury is still out on the law’s effectiveness, but we can bet that plenty of New Yorkers will be putting their money where their (horn) is.

In Tribeca, we came across a heated game of New York-style roller hockey, complete with steel garbage cans in lieu of goals. While this might appear to be a scene straight out of D2: The Mighty Ducks, one famed NHLer actually honed his game by playing in roller skates on the rough asphalt courts of Hell’s Kitchen. Native New Yorker Joe Mullen started out this way before taking his talents to the ice. He eventually made the NHL as an undrafted player, scored 502 regular season goals, and won three Stanley Cups (with the Flames in 1989 and the Penguins in 1991 and 1992).